Parental care in Amphibians

Caring the eggs and young ones until they lead an independent life is known as parental care.
Parental care is an obligatory behaviour for some animals as it is important for the survival of
the species and continuation of the race.
There is a great deal of diversity among animals while caring their eggs and young ones.
Amphibians were the pioneers amongst the vertebrates to step on to the land. On coming to
this new environment they had to face many hostile forces and they had to develop various
ways and means to overcome the obstacles. Naturally greatest importance was given to the
perpetuation of race, so that they can ultimately win the struggle, as a result, the reproductive,
mechanism had undergone extensive modifications.
Perpetuation of race can be maintained either by the process of overproduction of eggs or by
caring of a small number of eggs. Caring of the offspring’s is an achievement in the trend of
evolution. It will be unwise to think that the care of young ones is a mammalian monopoly.
Although it has taken a perfect shape in mammals, the phenomenon of parental care is quite
well-developed in amphibians where extreme modifications in structure and behaviour are
observed. Among amphibian’s parental care is observed in all the three living orders, but the
degree varies.
Amphibians exhibit different ways to protect the eggs and the young’s during the early stages
of development. By this way nature has practised economy in the number of eggs, which
varies in direct proportion to the chances of destruction.
Parental care among amphibians can be conveniently studied under two categories like,
1. Indirect caring
2. Direct caring
Indirect caring:
In indirect caring, the parents construct nests with available materials like leaves, twigs etc to
deposit eggs and young one for their further development.
For example-

A. In the large tree frog Hyla faber commonly known as ‘Ferreiro’ found in Brazil, the
female protects the eggs and larvae by building a basin shaped mud nest or nursery
in shallow waters at the border of the water body like ponds/lakes etc with the aid of
webbed feet. During nest making the female scoops mud to make a crater of 7-10
cms and with the same mud they construct a circular wall around the crater above the
surface of water. The eggs and early larvae are thus protected from predators like
insects, fishes etc in the constructed nursery until they are able to defend themselves.
Rains that follow later, destroy the wall of the nursery releasing the larvae into the
into main water from the crater like nest.

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 B. A better mode of protecting the eggs during the early stages of development has been
adopted by a Japanese tree frog Rhacophonis schlegelii. The male and female in
embrace bury themselves in the damp earth on the edge of ditch or flooded rice field,
and make a hole or chamber, a few centimetres above water level. The gallery by
which they enter into that chamber gets obliterated and then egg laying begins.

The female first produces a secretion from cloaca which is beaten into a froth. The
eggs are deposited into the froth. Now the inactive male impregnates them, and then
both of them separate and make an exit gallery towards the ditch. It is obliquely
downwards towards the water. Once the larvae develop, the bubbles collapse, the
froth liquefies and this liquid acts as an efficient vehicle for transporting the larvae
down the exit gallery into the water.

C. Similarly, female of South American tree frog, Leptodactylus mystacinus stirs up a

D. Some anuran females discharge huge mucus and beat it into a foam with their hind
legs and then eggs are laid. Later on hatching tadpoles drop into water from the foam.

E. Tree frogs like Phyllomedusa in South America, Rhacophorus malabaricus in India,

F. The tree frog Hyla resinfictrix lines a shallow cavity of the tree with bee’s wax
brought from the hives of stingless bees. Eggs are laid there when it is filled with rain
water. Tadpoles develop here safely.

Direct caring:

In direct caring, either the male or the female parent keep the eggs and larvae with them for
protection until they become young and independent. For example,

A. The Alytes obstetricians, exhibit a peculiar type of parental care. This type of toad is
abundant in France and Italy. It is an entirely terrestrial anuran commonly known as
‘European mid-wife toad’. Several males are reported to collect round a female on
land. Of the males, one becomes successful to grasp round the waist of the female.
The male in this position massages and lubricates the cloacal region of the female,
there-upon the females discharge about 25 eggs in the form of two strings. These eggs

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 are arranged far from one another. As the eggs are being laid, the male fertilize them
during the expulsion of eggs with their sperms and holds the string with the toes of the
hind limbs and pulls them out and wraps the fertilized eggs round the back of the
thigh and he withdraws himself into a hole near the pond.
An active male can accept eggs from at least three females in this way. As they are
entirely terrestrial, the eggs develop on the males for several weeks during which the
father carries the burden on his body. The eggs do not dry as it is protected by a multi-
layered envelop and moreover the embryo sucks water from the father’s skin.
When the eggs are ready to hatch, the male carries them to nearest water and the
larvae are shed into the water. Further development and metamorphosis take place in
water. After all the larvae are shed, the male frees himself from the empty strings.
B. In the urodelan Desmognathus fusca, female carry the eggs that are laid in the form
of rosary-like strings around the trunk and live in underground hole. The female
nourishes them at a comparatively dry spot.
C. Pipa americana exhibits the most striking form of parental care among the
amphibians. It is commonly known as “Surinam toad” in South America. During
breeding season, the skin of the female acts as an excellent cradle. It becomes soft and
spongy with wrinkles and folds. The corneous layer of the skin and the glands
particularly on the back disappear during the breeding season. The male and female
enter in the water. The male embraces the female from behind and the couples move
around in a circle during which the large cloaca of the female evaginate and turn on to
her back and under the male’s belly. When the spawning couple are in an upside-
down posture, the female slowly squeezes out 1-5 eggs at a time with the strokes of
the male from above. As the eggs are being squeezed out, the male fertilizes the eggs
and slowly release his grip on the female so that the fertilized eggs can slide down
between his belly and the back of the female. Once the eggs slide down, the male
again tightens the grip on the female and press the eggs so that they get embedded
into the soft, swollen skin of the female. This process continues for several hours
since the male has to accurately arrange about 100 eggs on the back of the female.
After several days, the walls of the cells become hexagonal like a honey comb and the skin
encloses the eggs on all sides. The upper part of the skin envelope hardens to form a lid
called operculum over each cell. The partition between the cells and the underlying skin are
richly supplied with blood vessels which provide oxygen, moisture and food for the
development of the eggs. After about 80 days, the cells open and the young ones emerge/pop
out of their cradles. The skin on the back of the female regenerates and the female is ready to
become a mother again.
D. Gastrotheca, commonly known as “Marsupial frog” is common to central and south
America. The females have a brood pouch or sac on the back with a slit at the bottom.
The skin that forms the brood pouch loses its poison glands, chromatophores etc and
become tender and rich with blood vessels. During mating the cloaca of the female
evaginate as in Pipa and turns on her back towards the slit. As the female release the
eggs, the male fertilizes them and push them into the brood sac through the slit. After
several days, the larvae develop and metamorphose within the brood sac and the
young ones emerge out by themselves thorough the slit of the brood sac. The mother
also helps in releasing the young ones with her hind limbs.

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E. Ichthyophis is commonly referred as Caecilians (limbless amphibians). The male and
female mate in water and fertilization is internal. It takes about three hours for a
successful mating as they do not have limbs, but the cloaca has special suction cups
that enable the mating pair to hold each other and stay immobile. After mating, the
female burrow at the periphery of the water body in the moist soil and lays about 25
pea sized eggs which are covered by a tough membrane that prevent desiccation. The
eggs also have outgrowths on their membranes that help to keep the eggs together as
compact mass. After egg laying, the female coil its snake like body around the eggs
and secretes a slime to moisten the eggs. The developing young ones absorb this slime
and grow in size. During development, the external gills, rudiments of the hind limbs
and a tail is formed in the larvae within the egg there by indicating its affinity to
amphibians. These structures disappear at birth; thus metamorphosis of the larva
occur within the egg. At hatching, the young ones that emerge are exact copies of
their parent. They feed on the moist skin of the mother as nutrition, which the mother
regenerates later. The young then burrow into the soil to prevent drying. After
spending some time in the burrow, they come out and venture into the water body for
their final development. After finding their way into the water they increase in size
and length to become stronger. Later, they return to the moist land to lead a terrestrial
life.